Changes for Virginia’s Alcohol Laws

The government agency that regulates Virginia’s Alcohol rules is undergoing a few critical changes lately. A lot of credit for this is due to the bad economy. There are calls for privatization of the industry, and the agency is under pressure to perform more efficiently in reaction.

I think it is interesting that the agency only has the budget for about 80 inspection agents. They didn’t work on New Year’s Eve – probably one of the heavier drinking days of the year.

The Q&A points out that the ABC is failing to enforce even the most basic rules, like the ratio of food-to-drink sales that all bars in Virginia are supposed to adhere to. Some of the rules, instead of continuing to enforce is simply throwing away, like the (admittedly stupid) advertising restrictions on happy hours.

The ABC Board recently voted to allow restaurants to put up one sign outside an establishment for happy hour. It was completely prohibited. You couldn’t even say the words “happy hour” outside the door. In the restaurant community, this is big news. And it’s a significant step from an agency that has been timid or hesitant to do anything the least bit controversial.

I do question whether knee-jerk reactionary privatization is the best answer. Virginia privatized its IT systems and there have been recent complaints about its productivity. It is not a tough analogy to see the same potential problems with privatizing the alcohol industry.